Housing crises in the UK for disabled people

30 Sep 2014: Most houses in the UK are upstairs-downstairs and for a wheelchair user or someone with mobility issues, stairs are impossible.

A lot of the bathrooms are also upstairs, front doors and corridors are narrow and walls are not conducive to having hand rails attached as they cannot hold a person’s weight.

There are around 800,000 people living in inaccessible housing in the UK. These people are forced to sleep in their lounge rooms, bathe in their kitchens or pay to go to a facility where they can have a decent shower from time to time. Some people can’t even leave their homes as their doorways are too narrow – wonder what would happen if there were a fire?

I do hope that new housing developments in the UK do meet more disability standards and that those with a disability have a chance to live in these homes to gain back some dignity and independence.